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Kids’ Halloween party returns to AMI Moose Lodge

Kids’ Halloween party returns to AMI Moose Lodge

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Clubs, Entertainment, Events.

BRADENTON BEACH – Anna Maria Island Moose Lodge 2188 was filled with the sights and sounds of Halloween during the annual kids’ Halloween party on Saturday.

This year’s party took on greater significance for lodge officers and volunteers because last year’s party had to be held at Bradenton Moose Lodge 1223 due to the extensive damage Hurricanes Helene and Milton caused at the beachfront lodge in Bradenton Beach.

For the youngsters, it was simply a fun-filled Saturday morning that in­cluded French toast sticks for breakfast, games, a costume parade, a dance party, story time, a jelly bean guessing contest and a bag of treats for each youngster to take home with them.

“This is home,” Moose volunteer and party organizer Sandra Zenzel said as the party began. “We’re thrilled to be back at our lodge for our parties again. We’re finally back home where we need to be for our parties. Enjoy, and happy early Halloween.”

She also thanked the other Women of the Moose who helped organize the party.

When speaking to The Sun, Lodge Administrator Byron Dalton said, “Today’s our annual kids’ Halloween party the Women of the Moose put on for our members. We’ve got about a hundred kids here.”

When asked how it felt to have the kids’ Halloween party back at Lodge 2188 again, Dalton said, “Phenomenal.”

Kids’ Halloween party returns to AMI Moose Lodge
The costume selections reflected the youngsters’ interests and personalities. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Kids’ Halloween party returns to AMI Moose Lodge
The youngsters lined up to share their names and identify their costumes. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

After he gathered the costumed children for a group photo, Dalton suggested an impromptu dance party and requested some music. Using her cell phone, Fox 13 reporter and party attendee Kimberly Kuizon acted quickly and provided the dance music.

At one point, some of the younger children gathered around Zenzel as she read “The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything.”

Kids’ Halloween party returns to AMI Moose Lodge
During story time, Sandra Zenzel read “The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything.” – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Two-year-old Bryson Price came closest to correctly guessing the number of jelly beans contained in a large, covered drinking glass. He guessed 195 and there were 187.

The adult Halloween party will be held on Saturday, Oct. 25 and begin around 6 p.m., with karaoke being sung on the beachfront patio as part of the festivities.

 Queen of Hearts

The hurricane-damaged Moose Lodge has been operating at full speed for several months. The social quarters, bar area and second story deck reopened on May 1 and the storm surge-ravaged dining room opened ahead of schedule a couple months later.

The weekly Wednesday evening Queen of Hearts draw­ing that began before the 2024 hurricanes struck came to an end last week when one lucky local Moose member bought the winning ticket that opened the envelope containing the elusive Queen of Hearts.

“The winner walked away with about $270,000 after taxes,” Dalton said.

Kids’ Halloween party returns to AMI Moose Lodge
The Queen of Hearts drawing that began before the 2024 hurricanes was recently won. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

The next Queen of Hearts drawing will begin in about 60 days.

“Everybody that worked the Queen drawings needs a rest,” Dalton said.

With just under 18,000 members, the AMI Moose Lodge has the largest membership of any Moose Lodge in the world.

Grand reopening

On Saturday, Nov. 1, the AMI Moose Lodge will host its post-hurri­cane grand reopening celebration.

“We have some special visitors coming down. Scott Hart is the chief executive officer of Moose International and that’s the highest position you can hold in the Moose fraternity. He’s coming to visit us for the first time,” Dalton said.

John Reiter, the Inverness-based chairman of the Moose Interna­tional Board of Directors will also attend the grand reopening, joined by additional board members.

“There’s going to be some heavy hitters here to visit us as part of the grand reopening,” Dalton said.

Kids’ Halloween party returns to AMI Moose Lodge
The AMI Moose Lodge will host a special grand reopening dinner on Saturday, Nov. 1. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

The special grand reopening dinner menu will feature filet mignon served with two extra-large blue crab-stuffed shrimp, garlic mashed potatoes and fried green beans. Tuesday, Oct. 28 is the deadline to purchase a $34.95 dinner ticket.

After dinner, Ted Stevens and the Doo-Shots will provide the live music from 6:30-10 p.m., performing on the beachfront, ground-level patio. Moose mem­bers don’t need a dinner ticket to enjoy the live music and other after-dinner festivities.

Bennett, 2, came as Blippi, the children’s TV character. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

Bennett, 2, came as Blippi, the children’s TV character. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

Maverick, 3, came as Tamatoa, from the Disney movie, “Moana.” - Joe Hendricks | Sun

Maverick, 3, came as Tamatoa, from the Disney movie, “Moana.” - Joe Hendricks | Sun

Rowan Slicker said he came as “one of those wavy guys.” - Joe Hendricks | Sun

Rowan Slicker said he came as “one of those wavy guys.” - Joe Hendricks | Sun

Kai Rosbury and Joey Smith played a kids’ version of cornhole. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

Kai Rosbury and Joey Smith played a kids’ version of cornhole. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

Bryson Price, 2, won the jelly bean guessing contest. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

Bryson Price, 2, won the jelly bean guessing contest. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

Joey Smith threw inflatable rings at her dad, Adam Smith. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

Joey Smith threw inflatable rings at her dad, Adam Smith. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

The grown-ups enjoyed the party too. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

The grown-ups enjoyed the party too. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

Duncan Real Estate celebrates return to Pine Avenue

Duncan Real Estate celebrates return to Pine Avenue

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Business, Real estate | Development.

ANNA MARIA – Duncan Real Estate celebrated the recent reopening of its hurricane-damaged Anna Maria office with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, a champagne toast, Chick-fil-A appetizers and the 7 Better Days hat bar.

The Duncan Real Estate sales and rental operations resumed at 310 Pine Ave. in late July after the business operations were displaced by the damage caused by Hurricane Helene in September 2024.

The Oct. 17 grand reopening celebra­tion began with some group photos taken of Duncan Real Estate owner Darcie Duncan, her 28 employees and some invited guests, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony conducted by representatives of the Manatee County Chamber of Commerce.

Duncan Real Estate celebrates return to Pine Avenue
A champagne toast celebrated the recent reopening of the Pine Avenue office. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

After the ribbon cutting, a champagne toast was made inside the repaired, renovated and expanded office space. Appetizers were enjoyed and many attendees stepped outside to design their own hats at the mobile 7 Better Days hat bar owned and operated by sisters Taylor and Kilee Fehd. Duncan employees and invited guests selected a baseball cap-style hat of their choosing and the various patches and other accessories to be pressed onto their customized hats.

Duncan Real Estate celebrates return to Pine Avenue
Employees and guests designed and customized their hats at the 7 Better Days hat bar. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

The following day, Duncan Real Estate’s Pine Avenue office was open dur­ing the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce’s Bayfest street party celebra­tion – an annual event that was canceled last year because of the hurricanes.

Looking back, looking ahead

“I could not be more excited to be back on Pine Avenue. It’s been my company’s home for 25 years and there is nowhere else we would rather be,” Duncan said. “Pine Avenue is more than just a street; it’s our little family too and we love seeing everyone again.”

Regarding the hurricane damage, she said, “With Helene, we had 37 inches of water throughout the office and we lost everything we had not removed with our normal storm preparations. So, we had to gut the inside down to the studs. We just had some little bumps and bruises from Hurricane Milton.”

Duncan Real Estate celebrates return to Pine Avenue
Duncan Real Estate’s maintenance office is located at 5916 Marina Drive in Holmes Beach. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

During the post-hurricane recovery process, Duncan Real Estate operated in the former Barnes Walker Title Inc. office at 5916 Marina Drive in Holmes Beach in a space Duncan Real Estate began using as a maintenance facility in August 2024, the month before the first of the back-to-back hurricanes struck the Island.

The maintenance facility remains at the Holmes Beach location and the additional office space there is now leased to someone else.

“We have a new, expanded office space on Pine Avenue and a great maintenance office in Holmes Beach,” Duncan said.

Duncan Real Estate celebrates return to Pine Avenue
The Duncan Real Estate sales and rental office is located at 310 Pine Ave. in Anna Maria. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

When asked about the post-hurricane real estate and vacation rental markets one year later, she said, “The sales market has held up relatively well, all things considered. It’s been a bumpy road but I see good momentum as of late. I think one of the driving factors that created the sluggish market is that people just needed to get a storm season behind them to feel comfortable before jumping back in the market.”

Duncan Real Estate celebrates return to Pine Avenue
Duncan Real Estate owner Darcie Duncan is happy to be back on Pine Avenue. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

“The vacation rental market has also held up well, considering that many of the ground-level rentals just came back online in mid-spring and into the summer. Some guests chose to just wait and come back next year, as they wanted the Island to be more put back together. We have a resilient community and that proves what a great place this is to vacation and invest. I feel very optimistic that we will see continued improvement in 2026,” Duncan said.